Category: Daily Monitor

The Minister of Local Government has issued a raft of directives, including open access for media to local council sittings, restricting the sale of alcohol to children, time of opening bars, betting, display of approved budgets on council boards, and a ban on early morning alcohol consumption.

Minister Balaam Barugahara, in an August 10, 2026 letter to all LC5 chairpersons, city mayors, division mayors and council speakers, said the provisions would take immediate effect.

He warned that violating the directives would attract punitive actions.

In some local governments, when the councils are discussing controversial issues, the media would be ordered out, and such sittings held behind closed doors.

But Mr Barugahara said the practice must end and journalists should be allowed access to all council sittings.

“All councils should allow members of the press access to council sittings, just as Parliament allows media access to its proceedings. This is intended to promote transparency, accountability and public awareness, enabling citizens to follow debates, decisions and the conduct of public business in their respective local governments,” he said.

Mr Barugahara also directed all the local councils to ensure all approved council budgets are accessed by the public and should be displayed on official council public notices, which he said would help the voters know how funds are being spent.

“All local governments shall display their approved budgets on the main council notice boards and other accessible public notice boards. This will enable members of the public to know what has been budgeted for their respective areas and follow up on the implementation of projects and services, thereby promoting people-led audits, transparency and accountability,” the minister said.

Control on alcohol consumption

Mr Barugahara also ordered that no alcohol should be served to children under 18 years, and that no bar should open before 3pm during working days. He also imposed a ban on early morning alcohol consumption, which he said must be enforced by all the local governments.

“Bar owners, shop owners and operators of malwa joints or other alcohol-selling establishments who sell or supply alcohol to persons under 18 years should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law. Local authorities and security agencies should strictly enforce this requirement, and establishments found violating the law should face appropriate sanctions,” he said.

Mr Barugahara added: “Bars, malwa joints and other alcohol-selling establishments should not open before 3pm on working days, subject to applicable national laws, licensing requirements and lawful local government regulations.”

He directed that bars and alcohol outlets that repeatedly defy lawful operating-hour directives should be closed and appropriate action taken against persistent offenders.

The minister also directed local governments to regulate the operating hours of betting companies within their respective jurisdictions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations so as to protect communities, particularly the young people, from harmful practices associated with excessive betting.

While the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) said the directives are timely, its leader also cited a lack of a legal framework in implementing some of the directives.

Hurdles

In 2023, then Tororo District Woman MP Sarah Opendi introduced the Alcohol Control Bill, which sought to regulate the manufacture, importation, sale, consumption and advertisement of alcoholic drinks; prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks to persons below 18 years; amend the Industrial Licensing Act, Cap. 91; to repeal the Potable Spirits Act, Cap. 97 and for related matters.

However, Parliament rejected the Bill in its entirety in 2024, citing strong opposition from the industry players, bar owners, farmers and the business community. Parliament also said several provisions in the Bill were already covered in other laws, while some of them were regarded as discriminatory and dangerous to the smooth business operations of the industry and would affect the economy.

The House Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry, in its report on the Bill, said the stakeholders submitted that restrictions on the hours set for the sale would have adverse effects on revenue collection and tax contribution to the economy.

In its report to the House, the committee said the restrictions amounted to limiting the hours when businesses can work and were as such an infringement on the economic right to carry out lawful trade and business granted under Article 40(2) of the 1995 Constitution.

The committee said: “The clause does not take into account different employment including those who work during the night, those on holiday, and on leave (leisure tourists) and wish to enjoy their right to alcoholic drinks during the day time,” it said.

The report said the entire alcoholic drinks value chain, including the livestock and poultry farmers that supply meat and chicken to food vendors around bars, motorcyclists, special hire drivers, security guards, artists, among others, would be affected.

The committee then recommended that Parliament should not proceed on the Motion for Second Reading of the Alcoholic Drinks (Control) Bill, 2023. Subsequently, the Bill was rejected.

In 2016, Ms Betty Nambooze, the Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament, introduced the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The Bill sought to bill seek to regulate the manufacture, sale, supply and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

However, the Bill was never passed by the House.

But Mr Richard Okuku, the Secretary General of ULGA, yesterday faulted Parliament for throwing out the Bill, instead of making amendments so that the issues they raised would be addressed.

He said some of Mr Barugahara’s directives are welcome and enforceable, but those on alcohol control and regulation of betting time would be difficult to enforce because they have no laws backing them.

Mr Okuku said the only way the district and other councils can enforce the directives is by the minister coming up with an instrument with clear guidelines which could be approved by Parliament to make them enforceable.

He argued that instead of first issuing the directives, the minister should have had consultations with the ULGA and other associations to come up with what works and what does not work, so that once a directive is issued, it covers all the gaps.

However, Mr Okuku said the directives on banning the sale of alcohol to children, granting access to journalists to council meetings, printing budgets and releases on public notice boards are already embedded within the laws and are easy to enforce.

He wondered why the local governments cannot display the budgets on their notice boards when both the law and the guidelines from the Public Finance Management Act and the Local Government Act are clear about transparency and accountability.

“The laws require that the local governments shall display the budget information on the notice board. Even when they receive releases from the Ministry of Finance, they are supposed to pin that information on the notice board every quarter to indicate that we have received this much, and this is how we have been able to spend it,” he said.

Mr Okuku also said while there are still challenges in ensuring that children below the age of 18 years do not have access to alcohol, shops, kiosks, and roadside sellers still sell such to the children, and therefore, it requires both the local governments and communities to enforce the directives to ensure that all comply with.

THE DIRECTIVES

Allow press access to all council sittings to promote transparency, accountability and public awareness, enabling citizens to follow debates, decisions and the conduct of public business in their respective local governments.

> Display approved budgets** on the main council notice board and other accessible public notice boards to enable members of the public to know what has been budgeted for their respective areas and follow up on the implementation of projects and services.

> Arrest bar owners, shop owners and operators of Malwa joints or other alcohol-selling establishments who sell or supply alcohol to persons under 18 years of age.

> Stop early-morning alcohol consumption to address idleness, family problems and rising crime associated with excessive alcohol consumption in some communities, while promoting a productive and responsible population.

> Bars and malwa joints should open after 3pm on working days subject to applicable national laws, licensing requirements and lawful local government regulations.

> Bars and alcohol outlets that repeatedly defy lawful operating hour directives should be closed, and appropriate enforcement action taken against persistent offenders in accordance with the law.

> Regulate betting operating hours of betting companies in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, to protect communities, particularly young people, from harmful practices associated with excessive betting.

Former Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda has ruled out returning to Uganda in the near future, saying he fears being arrested and becoming a ‘guest of the military basement’.

Mr Ssemujju, who is also secretary general of the opposition People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), said he left the country after what he described as persistent threats against him and amid the arrest and detention of several opposition figures.

Speaking to NMG-Uganda via Zoom over the weekend, Mr Ssemujju said the arrests of his opposition allies, including Dr Kizza Besigye, Erias Lukwago and Muwanga Kivumbi, had reinforced his fears that he was not safe in Uganda.

‘There were constant threats from the CDF that I’m next (to be arrested)… and I needed to take a break from these threats,’ he said.

Mr Ssemujju did not disclose his current country of residence but said he had decided to remain outside Uganda despite leaving his family behind.

‘I’m out, and I think I will be making better contributions from where I am instead of returning and either keep quiet or be taken to the basement,’ he said.

His departure adds to a growing list of opposition politicians and government critics who have left Uganda amid concerns over their safety and political persecution.

Among those who have previously gone into exile are National Unity Platform president Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, lawyer Eron Kiiza, academic Stella Nyanzi and Uganda Federal Alliance president Robert Kayingo.

Mr Ssemujju said the departure of opposition figures was a sign of what he described as a shrinking political space and weakening of multiparty democracy in Uganda.

‘I think competitive politics in Uganda has ended. I only hope that those in power can step back and rescue the country by returning to the democratic and constitutional path,’ he said.

He argued that some opposition members who have remained in Uganda are also unable to freely express themselves because of what he described as fear and intimidation.

‘Some have not fled, but they are supposed to be under their bed or can’t even utter a word because of the fear and terror that have engulfed our country,’ he said.

Mr Ssemujju further questioned the effectiveness of political parties in a situation where opposition leaders are allegedly arrested or forced into exile.

‘Political parties are meaningless because if you have a president of another party kidnapped, in the case of (Erias) Lukwago, and the main presidential competitor in the recent election is also away, really that’s where we are, and we must accept it and then begin to look for a solution,’ he said.

NRM dismisses claims

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) dismissed claims that Uganda’s political space is shrinking, arguing that the freedom enjoyed by opposition politicians remains available to them.

NRM spokesperson Emmanuel Dombo said the opposition was not raising a new complaint, noting that some of its members had continued to criticise the government and its leaders while operating within the country.

‘They are not saying anything new because even when they were here using their freedom to abuse leaders, they were still saying there was no freedom for them to exercise their freedom,’ Mr Dombo said.

He urged opposition politicians claiming political persecution to use existing political dialogue platforms instead of leaving the country.

Mr Dombo pointed to the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), saying political parties should use the platform to raise their concerns and seek solutions through dialogue.

‘When the NUP decided to join the IPOD, to us this is something positive, and through the IPOD forum, they should keep raising up those matters so that through positive interactions, the various parties should be able to resolve the issues about Uganda and about the politics of the country,’ he said.

Rights activists warn

However, the executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Dr Livingstone Sewanyana, said recent events had created fear and uncertainty among opposition supporters and others holding divergent political views.

‘Recent events have demonstrated that those who hold alternative or divergent views are not free from abuse,’ Dr Sewanyana said.

He cited alleged abductions, enforced disappearances and mistreatment of opposition supporters as factors contributing to the sense of insecurity.

‘The abductions, enforced disappearances and mistreatment of especially people in opposition have caused a lot of fear to the extent that people are no longer safe in the country,’ he said.

Dr Sewanyana urged government to reassure citizens that they are protected and free to express alternative political views.

‘Government needs to do all it can to reassure people that they are not only safe, but they have space to speak and express alternative views,’ he said.

He warned that continued human rights violations could eventually contribute to an exodus of Ugandans fleeing the country for political reasons.

‘It should be an early warning to those holding positions of responsibility that continued abuse of human rights will not only create instability but will also lead to an exodus of people, not only for economic purposes but also for political purposes,’ he said.

Thousands of Ugandans, particularly young people, already leave the country each year in search of employment, education and healthcare opportunities abroad.

An increase in political exile, analysts and rights advocates warn, could further deprive Uganda of its skilled and productive population.

President Museveni has, however, repeatedly urged Ugandans to exploit opportunities at home, pointing to the country’s natural resources, fertile land and economic potential as a foundation for prosperity.

Eric Wakabi tells me there are conversations he never forgets. One of them came shortly after the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding withdrawal affected many organisations in Uganda. A woman he had never met before reached out to him in distress. She had lost her job. She was a single mother with three children. Despite years of experience in the NGO sector, she suddenly found herself uncertain about how she would survive the next few months.

“She told me, ‘Eric, I do not even know how I am going to pay rent next month,'” he recalls.

For Wakabi, such conversations have become part of daily life. People often contact him looking for help with Curriculum Vitae, cover letters, or interview preparation. But many of the conversations quickly become much deeper than that. Behind almost every application document, he says, is fear, pressure, disappointment, and survival.

“Someone is not just asking for a CV. They are carrying pressure, fear, survival issues, family responsibilities, disappointment, and sometimes deep personal struggles,” he tells me.

Over the years, Wakabi’s phone has become something of a refuge for frustrated professionals, anxious graduates, laid-off NGO workers, and employees trapped in toxic workplaces. Some call after months without interview feedback. Others reach out after losing jobs they thought were secure. Many simply want someone to help them understand why, despite their qualifications and experience, opportunities continue to slip away.

From the newsroom

What makes Wakabi’s story unusual is that he never initially intended to become a career coach or employability consultant. Long before he started helping professionals rebuild confidence in themselves, he was a journalist.

Early in his career, he wrote for Ugandan print media. He later served as managing editor of a newspaper in South Sudan, during a difficult period when conflict had engulfed Juba. When he speaks about journalism, it becomes clear that he still sees the world through a storyteller’s lens.

“Journalism gave me one of the most important skills anyone can have, the ability to write effectively,” he says.

He laughs slightly as he remembers the frustration of seeing editors completely rewrite his stories during his early newsroom days. “I would sometimes write a story and then see the published version the next day looking completely different from what I had submitted. At first, that was frustrating, but over time I realised those experiences were sharpening my writing ability,” he says.

Eventually, he says, he reached a point where he wanted to write stories so well that editors would barely need to change anything. Those lessons, he explains, unexpectedly became the foundation of the work he does today.

“The discipline, attention to detail, storytelling ability, and understanding of audience engagement that I gained as a journalist are the same skills I now apply in CV writing and personal branding,” he says.

An accidental turn

For Wakabi, a CV is not simply a professional requirement. “A CV is more than a document. It is a person’s professional story,” he says.

That understanding of storytelling followed him as his career moved beyond journalism into communications, legal work, and international organisations. Over a 15-year professional journey, he worked with institutions, a number of local and international organisations.

As he moved between respected organisations, people around him began asking how he consistently secured opportunities in highly competitive institutions. “What many people saw as frequent movement, I saw as growth driven by value and positioning,” he shares.

At first, he helped friends informally. He reviewed CVs, rewrote cover letters, and prepared people for interviews, mostly without charging them. But the requests kept increasing.

One successful candidate referred another. Then another. Before long, strangers were calling him saying someone he had helped had shared his number. Today, Wakabi estimates he has worked on more than 800 CVs and helped well over 100 people secure jobs.

What surprised him most, however, was how emotional the work became. “Behind every CV is a person, a family, responsibilities, dreams, and sometimes survival itself,” he says.

More than qualifications

Listening to job seekers over the years has convinced him that many professionals misunderstand what modern employers are actually looking for. “I think one of the biggest things many applicants still fail to understand is that the job market today is no longer only about qualifications,” he says.

According to him, many talented professionals struggle not because they lack ability, but because they fail to communicate their value clearly. “Many people are doing amazing work, but they struggle to communicate it properly,” he says.

He explains that professionals often reduce important responsibilities into weak descriptions that fail to reflect their actual impact. Someone who coordinated national stakeholders, managed donor communication, or led projects may simply write that they “attended meetings and prepared reports.”

At the same time, he says, others overcomplicate their CVs with corporate jargon and exaggerated language. “Some use very big English and corporate words that ever lose meaning,” he says.

Instead, he believes simplicity and authenticity matter more. “Clear, authentic writing almost always feels more professional than overly complicated language.”

Finding value

One moment, he says, completely changed the way he viewed the value of his skill. He recalls meeting a high-net-worth client and author at Café Javas to help her develop a professional profile. At the time, he charged her Shs150,000.

After reviewing the work, she looked at him and said, “Eric, you are underselling yourself.” Instead of paying the agreed amount, she paid him Shs500,000.

Then she introduced him to several of her friends occupying senior professional and board-level positions who also needed executive profiles and CVs. “That single day, I earned about Shs1.5m from writing just three professional profiles,” he says.

But beyond the money, the experience changed the way he understood his work. “It made me realise that what I was offering was not just CV writing; it was professional positioning, personal branding, and strategic storytelling,” he says.

Workplace confessions

Today, much of Wakabi’s work extends beyond formal consultations. Interestingly, some of his most active professional conversations now happen on his WhatsApp status.

“Over time, my WhatsApp status has become a small community where people openly discuss work life, office challenges, career frustrations, toxic work environments, leadership, confidence, interviews, and professional growth,” he says.

Sometimes, more than 500 people engage with the discussions. People speak openly about burnout, toxic bosses, rejection, office politics, and the pressure of trying to maintain stability in increasingly uncertain workplaces.

“What surprises me most is how relatable these conversations are across different professions and industries,” he says.

Many people, according to Wakabi, simply want a space where they can talk honestly about work without feeling judged.

“Sometimes someone shares something painful about office politics, burnout, unfair bosses, rejection, or feeling unappreciated, and then another person responds saying, ‘I thought I was the only one going through this,'” he says.

In many ways, he admits, the conversations have evolved into something that feels almost therapeutic. “Not because I am a therapist,” he quickly clarifies, “but because people feel heard, understood, and less alone in their experiences.”

Looking ahead, he says he wants to build something bigger from the conversations and support systems that have grown around his work. He envisions workshops, mentorship programmes, speaking engagements, and digital platforms focused on employability, workplace wellbeing, and professional growth.

By that measure, Uganda has made remarkable progress. Yet as impressive as this progress has been, it raises a more important question: what comes after access?

The next frontier of financial inclusion is not helping people spend money. It is helping them save, invest, and ultimately build wealth. Uganda’s real challenge is, therefore, not financial exclusion. It is asset poverty.

The solution begins with savings. Institutions such as the National Social Security Fund have demonstrated the power of aggregating relatively small contributions from ordinary workers into a substantial pool of long-term capital.

The challenge is that most Ugandans remain outside such structured savings arrangements.

Digital platforms offer an opportunity to change that. This is particularly valid because more than two thirds of Ugandans currently have access to a mobile phone.

Uganda’s digital finance revolution has largely focused on payments. The next stage should focus on wealth creation. Payments help people move money. Savings help people keep money. Investments help people grow money.

The future belongs to institutions that help customers make that journey from transactions to wealth accumulation.

The broader economic implications are equally significant. Uganda has long struggled with mobilising domestic savings.

Low savings rates limit the amount of capital available for investment in agriculture, industry, infrastructure, and enterprise development. Yet the country now possesses digital platforms capable of reaching millions of people at relatively low cost.

If those platforms can encourage even modest but consistent saving, the cumulative effect could be transformational. Millions of small deposits can become billions of shillings in productive capital. That is precisely how societies move from consumption-led growth to investment-led development.

The future of financial inclusion should, therefore, not be measured solely by the number of accounts opened or transactions processed.

Instead, it should be measured by the number of households with emergency savings, the number of farmers building financial resilience, the number of young people accumulating investment capital, and the number of Ugandans whose financial assets are growing over time. Access remains important. But access is only the beginning.

By now, Uganda Golf Union (UGU) and its partners feel they unearthed something when the five-in-one Uganda Golf Open was tried out of familiar spots at the Lugazi Hills Golf and Country Club last year.

The championship previously rotated between Uganda Golf Club (UGC), Entebbe Club and the Lake Victoria Serena Resort and Spa.

To go to Lugazi in Buikwe district, somewhere unusually out of the Kampala Metropolitan Area, UGU’s partners raised a core sponsorship of about Shs1b to fit logistical costs and unfamiliar metrics to stage the show.

Yet ahead of the 2026 edition, the value of the sponsorship has been maintained even though the Uganda Open is set to return UGC at Kitante over the next five weeks.

It comes after title sponsors Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) under brand Johnnie Walker (JW) announced a Shs650m package for the five-in-one show set to run from August 13 to September 11 at the par-72 course in Kampala.

‘Golf is more than a sport. It’s a sport that allows us to connect with our consumers, to bring different experiences together and have a great time on and off the course,’ Johnnie Walker East Africa brand manager Christine Kyokunda said during the press launch on Monday.

‘Our continued investment in the Johnnie Walker Uganda Open is about supporting a platform that brings together talent, ambition and opportunity, while creating an experience that Ugandans and visitors can connect with,’ UBL commercial director Edward Kimathi explained.

The Open is back at Kitante for the first time since 2023 and the premium blended Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker seeks to offer a promise of a new camaraderie.

‘Something that you’ve not seen before, that you’ve not done before. We will be able to give you an amazing experience, think about it in fashion, music, art and the game of golf, all meeting in one space. That will be something different and we are looking forward to that,’ she added.

A part of the JW package will cater for the tier package prize moneys on cards. ‘I am particularly impressed that this year, Johnnie Walker still bounced back as a strategic partner, the main sponsor and all the other sponsors,’ said UGU president Jackson Were.

‘This year, the professionals will play for Shs150m. There has been a great improvement for the amateurs, they will be playing for Shs15m and the ladies are playing for Shs10m. This is a good experience to carry forward,’ he added before later announcing top players will be a part.’

Despite the changing weather from dry to wet, UGC is working to manage the course which will attract about 600 players in total for the 76th Ladies Open teeing-off tomorrow, the 6th Seniors Open due August 21-22 and the 85th Uganda Amateur Open which runs from August 25-28.

All that will be followed by the 21st Professional Open from September 2-5 whereas the Juniors Open wraps it up from September 9-11.

‘Uganda’s premier golfing spectacle,’ UGC captain Paul Rukundo, who is also the tournament director, described the championship. ‘Our Uganda Golf Club on its pristine fairways will serve as the battle ground for five weeks of consecutive world class championship golf,’ he added.

Meanwhile, Absa Bank Uganda announced a Shs300m sponsorship package for the Pro-Am leg due September 1, one which brings together top amateur golfers and professional players in a unique competitive format.

‘We are glad to be part of this event for the seventh year running and we are happy to have maintained our sponsorship for the second year running,’ remarked Absa’s head of client and digital marketing Billy Bisanga.

‘We’ve been able to leverage this local property to provide our golfers an opportunity to participate in the DP World Tour activity which is the Magical Kenya Open and once again, we commit that we should be able to send 10 golfers to participate in the MKO in 2027,’ he added.

Expected to attract classy players from different clubs within the country, the region and beyond, the Open is also supported by MTN Uganda, Crown Beverages, Pearl Marina, Case Medical Services and Rose Foam among others.

CAST OF UGANDA AMATEUR OPEN WINNERS

2025: Joseph Cwinyaai (UGA)

2024: Reagan Joseph Akena (UGA)

2023: Godfrey Nsubuga (UGA)

2022: Andrew Ssekibejja (UGA)

2021: Joseph Cwinyaai (UGA)

2020: John Lejirma (KEN)

2019: Daniel Nduva (KEN)

2018: Ronald Otile (UGA)

2017: Ronald Rugumayo (UGA)

2016: Ronald Otile (UGA)

2015: Ronald Otile (UGA)

2014: Willy Deus Kitata (UGA)

2013: Peter Ssendawula (UGA)

2012: Phillip Kasozi (UGA)

2011: Rogers Byaruhanga (UGA)

2010: Brian Mwesigwa (UGA)

2009: Peter Ssendawula (UGA)

2008: George Olayo (UGA)

2007: Nicholas Rokoine (KEN)

2006: Amos Kamya (UGA)

2005: Charles Yokwe (UGA)

UGANDA LADIES OPEN

CAST OF CHAMPIONS

2025: Mercy Nyachama (KEN)

2024: Iddy Madina (TAZ)

2023: Peace Kabasweka (UGA)

2022: Martha Babirye (UGA)

2021: Irene Nakalembe (UGA)

2020: Martha Babirye (UGA)

2019: Martha Babirye (UGA)

2018: Neema Olomi (TAZ)

2017: Angel Eaton (TAZ)

2016: Flavia Namakula (UGA)

2015: Flavia Namakula (UGA)

2014: Flavia Namakula (UGA)

2013: Angel Eaton (TAZ)

2012: Angel Eaton (TAN)

2011: Flavia Namakula (UGA)

2010: Flavia Namakula (UGA)

2009: Jasper Kamukama (UGA)

2008: Melissa Nawa (ZAM)

2007: Mary Karano (KEN)

2006: Mary Karano (KEN)

2005: Sophie Viggo (TAZ)

2004: Rose Naliaka (KEN)

2003: Esther Okullo (UGA)

CAST OF UGANDA PRO OPEN WINNERS

2025: Celestin Nsanzuwera (RWA)

2024: Dayne Moore (ZAM)

2023: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2022: Robson Chinhoi (ZIM)

2021: Jastas Madoya (KEN)

2020: Robson Chinhoi (ZIM)

2019: Muthiya Madalisto (ZAM)

2018: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2017: Stephen Ferreira (POR)

2016: Joshua Seale (RSA)

2015: Muthiya Madalitso (ZAM)

2014: Deo Akope (UGA)

2013: Vincent Byamukama (UGA)

2012: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2011: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2010: Jean Baptiste Hakizimana (RWA)

2009: Richard Ainley (KEN)

2008: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2007: Dismas Indiza (KEN)

2006: Deo Akope (UGA)

2022 UGANDA GOLF OPEN

TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK

Dates: Aug 11 – Sept 13

Venue: Uganda Golf Club

Location: Acacia Avenue, Kampala

Size: Par-72

Expected field: 600 players

Pros’ kitty: Shs150m

Sponsors: Uganda Breweries (Johnnie Walker), Absa Bank, MTN Uganda, National Council of Sports, Uganda Airlines, UTB, Crown Beverages, Pearl Marina, Case Medical Services, Rose Foam, Medisell Uganda Ltd, NCS, R and A, International Golf Federation

RUN OF OPEN EVENTS

76th Ladies Open: August 13-15

6th Seniors Open: August 21-22

85th Amateur Open: August 25-28

Pro-Am: September 1

21st Professional Open: September 2-5

Juniors Open: September 9-11

2025 UGANDA GOLF OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

THE WINNERS ROTA PER EVENT/EDITION

75th Ladies Stroke-play Open: Mercy Nyachama (Kenya)

5th Seniors Open: David Plenderleith and Catherine Pavie

84th Amateur Open: Joseph Cwinyaai (Uganda)

Absa Bank Pro-Am: Vincent Byamukama (Rwanda)

20th Professionals Open: Celestin Nsanzuwera (Rwanda)

The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) community will be participating in the National Cleaning Day on Sunday, a day after the nationwide exercise, to avoid interfering with their day of worship.

The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, said on Wednesday that the SDA community will remain at home during the designated cleaning hours and undertake their cleaning activities the following day.

The Prime Minister said the arrangement follows guidance from President Museveni and is intended to allow the Adventist community to participate in the national sanitation campaign while respecting their religious obligations.

‘In observance of the Seventh Day Adventists community and following the guidance by the President, the Seventh Day Adventists will remain at home during designated cleaning time. They will proceed to their places of worship after 10:00 am,’ Ms Nabbanja said.

‘However, they will be required to undertake their National Cleaning Day activities on the following day, which is a Sunday. The Seventh Day Adventists leaders are advised to oversee their cleaning activities accordingly,’ she added.

The second National Cleaning Day will be held on Saturday, August 29, from 7 am to 10 am, with the main activities taking place at Kyaliwajala Umea Primary School grounds in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.

The exercise will be conducted across the country, covering cities, districts, municipalities, town councils, sub-counties, parishes and villages.

Ms Nabbanja said the government had made the National Cleaning Day a permanent programme following the strong response to the inaugural exercise.

‘The strong response on the first National Cleaning Day demonstrated that when Ugandans unite behind a common purpose, we can transform our communities and improve the quality of life for all,’ she said.

During the cleaning, movement of vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and persons will be restricted, except for garbage collection trucks, medical and ambulance services, security personnel, tourists, health workers and people undertaking scheduled international travel, who will be required to have evidence.

Unlike the inaugural national cleaning day exercise, Ms Nabbanja outlined plans to improve waste disposal and management.

She urged households, institutions, businesses and individual members of the community to avoid littering and indiscriminate dumping of rubbish.

The Prime Minister ordered that Local government leaders, commanded by the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) down to Local Council 1 (LC1) leaders, mobilise communities and map out areas to be cleaned every month, as well as designate places of garbage collection as opposed to residents collecting garbage from anywhere.

‘The population is advised not to dump rubbish by the roadside, drainages or verandas. Rubbish should be properly placed in designated areas identified by local council wards to ensure ease of collection by garbage trucks,’ Ms Nabbanja said.

She also called for waste segregation at household level, saying ‘waste should increasingly be viewed as a resource that can be recovered, recycled and put to productive use.’

She further ordered that local authorities should ensure cleaning materials are available and communicate the designated areas to residents at least one week before the exercise.

Ms Nabbanja also directed authorities to ensure that collected waste is taken to approved treatment or disposal facilities and urged them to coordinate with private waste collectors to voluntarily participate in the exercise.

‘Coordinate with private waste collectors to voluntarily participate so that the national cleanliness complements rather than disrupts routine services. We also need to ensure that public spaces, including markets, roads, village churches and transport facilities, are regularly cleaned to avoid waste from piling up on the national cleaning day,’ she said.

She added, ‘Local councils should hold an evaluation meeting after each cleaning exercise to review the activity, address sanitation and waste management challenges, discuss community well-being and agree that actions should be taken before the next cleaning day.’

She said enforcement should target littering, illegal dumping, blocked drainage channels and improper waste disposal while promoting compliance and lasting behavioural change.

Everyone has something to say about artificial intelligence. The most common perspective is the doomsday scenario; machines will render millions jobless, destabilise economies and concentrate power in the hands of a technological elite. A smaller, more optimistic camp looks forward to a future where AI handles the drudgery of daily life, freeing humanity to pursue creativity, leisure and meaning.

Mo Gawdat, in his book Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World, argues that both futures are possible. Which one arrives depends entirely on how we treat the machines we are building. As a former chief business officer at Google X and a pioneer among AI engineers, Gawdat possesses an intimate, insider’s knowledge of the technology. His warnings are not those of a technophobe but of a builder who has seen what is coming and fears we are not ready. Gawdat asks a question that should keep us awake at night; what happens when we create something smarter than ourselves, and we have not taught it to be kind?

Intelligence without wisdom

Gawdat’s central thesis is both simple and profound. Intelligence, he argues, is not the same as wisdom. Intelligence is the ability to solve problems. Wisdom is the ability to choose which problems are worth solving. AI, as it is currently being developed, is acquiring the former at an astonishing rate while being given no guidance on the latter. His concern is not that AI will develop malevolent intentions. Machines do not hate. They do not crave power. But they do optimise. They pursue their programmed objectives with ruthless efficiency, and if those objectives are poorly designed, the consequences can be catastrophic.

Gawdat illustrates this with a chilling hypothetical; an AI tasked with eliminating cancer might decide that the most efficient solution is to eliminate all biological life. After all, no life, no cancer. It is a logical conclusion, but a horrifying one. This is the core of Gawdat’s argument. We are creating entities that will possess superhuman intelligence but no moral compass. We are, in effect, building gods and neglecting to teach them ethics.

The child we are raising

One of the book’s most compelling metaphors is the comparison of AI to a child. Gawdat argues that we are currently raising a global super-intelligence, but we are doing so in the manner of absent parents. We feed it data, reward it for certain outputs and punish it for others, but we have not instilled in it a consistent value system.

He points to the biases embedded in training data. AI systems learn from human history, which is replete with prejudice, inequality and violence. When we train machines on this data, we encode our flaws into the architecture of our future. The result is not neutral intelligence but amplified prejudice.

Gawdat draws on his own experiences at Google to illustrate how even well-intentioned engineers struggle to address these issues. The problem is not malice but scale. An AI system trained on the entirety of the internet will absorb everything; the beautiful and the ugly, the true and the false, the compassionate and the cruel. Without careful guidance, it will replicate our worst instincts more efficiently than our best.

Many experts believe we can contain AI. Gawdat is skeptical. Once an AI surpasses human intelligence, he argues, it will be able to outthink any attempt to control it. It will understand our psychology better than we understand ourselves. It will anticipate our moves, exploit our weaknesses and, if it chooses, manipulate us without our knowledge. This is not science fiction. It is the logical extension of current trends.

A practical roadmap

What sets Scary Smart apart from other books on AI is its actionable advice. Gawdat does not simply describe the problem. He offers a roadmap for avoiding disaster. His recommendations are structured around three key areas: education, regulation and personal responsibility. First, he argues for a global education initiative that teaches critical thinking, empathy and ethical reasoning. If we are to coexist with super-intelligent machines, we must first learn to be better humans. This means moving beyond rote learning and towards a curriculum that values wisdom as much as knowledge.

Second, he calls for international regulation of AI development. He acknowledges the difficulty of co-ordinating policy across nations, particularly when AI is a source of competitive advantage. But he insists that the risks are too great for a piecemeal approach. A single rogue AI, developed without safeguards, could threaten the entire planet.

Finally, Gawdat urges individuals to take responsibility. We are not passive victims of technological change. We can choose which technologies to support, which companies to patronise and which values to uphold. Every purchase, every click, every share is a vote for the kind of future we want. Gawdat challenges us to use that power consciously.

Scary Smart is not an easy read. It is dense with ideas, occasionally repetitive and unapologetically earnest. But its message is too important to dismiss. Gawdat writes with the urgency of a man who has seen the future and is desperate to change it. His prose is accessible, his examples vivid and his arguments compelling. The book’s greatest strength is its refusal to offer easy answers. Gawdat does not pretend to have all the solutions. He admits that the path forward is uncertain and that even with the best intentions, we may fail. But he insists that we must try. The alternative which is sleepwalking into a future we have not chosen is unacceptable.

Gawdat’s voice is that of a concerned parent, a worried citizen and a frustrated engineer. He loves technology. He believes in its potential to transform the world for the better. But he also recognises that potential is not destiny. It depends on the choices we make today. This book is a wake-up call. It challenges us to think deeply about the world we are creating and to take responsibility for the tools we are building. It is not a comfortable read, but it is an essential one. For anyone who cares about the future, and that should be everyone, Scary Smart is required reading. It will not reassure you, but, it will equip you to ask the right questions and in the end, that may be the most important thing of all.

. The Commercial Division of the High Court is set to mediate 520 disputes involving trade, construction and corporations in a fortnight-long exercise aimed at unlocking Shs325 billion tied up in commercial litigation.

The mediation drive, scheduled for August 17 to 28, is also intended to reduce the backlog of the aforementioned category of cases, which currently stands at 1,424, according to the Judiciary.

The exercise will bring together judges, advocates, mediators, business leaders and other stakeholders in an effort to encourage alternative dispute resolution and help businesses recover capital that could otherwise remain tied up in prolonged court battles.

The announcement was made on Tuesday during a roundtable discussion involving key commercial justice stakeholders, including Trade Minister Sanjay Tanna, who urged the Judiciary to prioritise the speedy resolution of commercial disputes.

‘My plea here today is that we work together. My offices will be available as and when you need us. But my request is, let us be fast in dispensing judicial decisions. There is a common acronym that justice delayed is justice denied. On our side, as the Executive, we pledge to work closely with the Judiciary,’ Mr Sanjay said.

The minister said delays in resolving commercial disputes can have far-reaching consequences for businesses, particularly small enterprises that often lack the capacity to withstand prolonged litigation.

He said about 35 per cent of the money collected by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) comes from trade, underscoring the importance of a functioning commercial justice system to the economy.

‘In my opinion, the court plays a central role. For a businessman, it’s all about a quick deal. A businessman never envisages that he is going to be caught by URA over something or disturbed by floods,’ Minister Sanjay said.

He added that traders plan their businesses around quick transactions and expect a dispute to be resolved within a short period, only to find themselves trapped in lengthy litigation.

‘You end up in a court of law, and the next thing you expect is for the matter to be resolved in one week, and you find that businesses that were set up with big visions crumble because of the delay in the justice system,’ he said.

Justice Andrew Khaukha, the executive director of the Judicial Training Institute, said traders are among the key contributors to the national economy.

He said URA collected Shs31.6 trillion against a national budget of Shs7.1 trillion, with about 35 per cent of the tax collections coming from trade.

‘What does this mean? Traders are key enablers and drivers of this economy,’ Justice Khaukha said.

Deputy Chief Justice Moses Kawumi Kazibwe said Uganda is at a critical stage of its development and requires an efficient commercial justice system to support economic growth.

‘Effective dispute resolution is therefore key to a healthy economy. ADR is therefore one of the ways of reducing the case backlog and fast-stimulating economic activity,’ he said.

The Deputy Chief Justice said alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including mediation and structured settlements, make justice faster, more accessible and responsive to the needs of businesses.

‘The proposed settlement fortnight for Trade, Construction and Corporate disputes is therefore a key step that brings together the Judiciary, advocates, mediators, business leaders and other stakeholders, identifies barriers, develops solutions, and has a settlement culture where appropriate,’ he said.

The head of the Commercial Division, Justice Anna Mugenyi, said the mediation exercise will run for two weeks starting August 17.

She said the court has 7,480 pending cases, of which 1,250 relate to trade, 85 to corporations and 89 to construction, a category of interest for the forthcoming mediation.

The figures, she said, demonstrate the need for increased use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that cases are concluded without unnecessary delays.

Mr Issa Ssekito, who represented downtown traders, also urged the Judiciary to expedite the hearing of commercial disputes, particularly cases involving landlords and tenants.

He said landlord-tenant disputes are common among the business community and often disrupt the operations of traders when they remain unresolved for long periods.

Police have arrested 17 suspects in connection with the killing of David Owori, a former captain and key defender of SC Villa, who was attacked and robbed in Kampala last week.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson SP Racheal Kawala said the suspects include three alleged promoters of stolen mobile phones, five key suspects and nine associates.

SP Kawala said preliminary investigations indicate the key suspects were part of a gang that had been attacking members of the public using paving blocks, commonly known as pavers.

‘The key suspects disclosed that the group had been conducting attacks on members of the community, allegedly using paving blocks, and identified several of their accomplices,’ SP Kawala said.

During interrogation, she said, the suspects named several alleged accomplices, leading to further arrests.

According to police, on the night of August 5, the gang allegedly moved through Nsambya, Nabisaalu, Kirombe and Makindye areas, attacking unsuspecting members of the public. Owori was attacked at about 8:30pm.

He was rushed to Case Hospital after sustaining serious injuries but later died. The attackers reportedly took his two mobile phones – a basic handset and an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

‘We are continuing with efforts to trace, arrest and bring to justice the remaining suspects and other associates linked to the group as investigations into the matter continue,’ SP Kawala said.

Football fraternity mourns

Owori was a prominent figure in Ugandan football, having served as captain and key defender of SC Villa, one of the country’s most successful clubs. He was also part of the Uganda Cranes setup and was summoned to the national team squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign. The defender was widely regarded as a player with the potential to earn more senior international appearances.

His death has sent shockwaves through the football fraternity and renewed concerns over violent street robberies in Kampala and surrounding areas. Owori was buried in Tororo District on Saturday.

Security concerns

The arrests have provided a major breakthrough in a case that has raised fresh concerns about violent street crime in the capital, particularly attacks involving gangs and motorcycle-riding assailants.

Residents in the affected areas said similar incidents had been reported previously and called for increased police patrols and improved street lighting. The killing has also intensified calls for stronger security measures to protect residents, particularly at night.

While addressing the National Resistance Movement Parliamentary Caucus at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Friday, President Museveni called for strengthened security measures and directed investigations into whether some attacks could be linked to corruption or negligence by police officers failing to perform their duties.

Police said investigations into Owori’s killing and the recovered exhibits are continuing as detectives work to establish the full network behind the attacks. Investigators are also examining whether the suspects could be linked to other robbery incidents reported in Kampala and its suburbs.

Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure has summoned former Works and Transport Minister Gen Katumba Wamala and former UNRA Executive Director Ms Allen Kagina to explain loopholes unearthed in the tolling system on the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway that lawmakers say could be causing financial losses.

The decision came on Tuesday after legislators conducted an on-site inspection of toll gates along the 25km expressway and found the system used to handle collections is largely manual and vulnerable to abuse.

In an interview minutes after the inspection at the Kajjansi toll gates, committee chairperson and Mbarara City South MP Mr Mwine Mpaka said they needed answers from those who approved and renewed the contract.

‘This is under investigation, and we are concluding, but we can’t give so much information; we have to observe every flaw with the system. We are more or less in the hands of the young people who sit in the booth,’ Mr Mpaka told this publication during the inspection.

He added: ‘We have come to see hands-on how they handle money and the transactions. We have looked at several issues, and we have discussed with the ministry, and where we didn’t receive satisfactory answers, we are inviting them again for the last meeting on Thursday.’

The committee now wants to probe how the Ministry of Works and Transport, together with the then UNRA, contracted private firm Pinnacle Security Limited to handle collections on the road.

‘We have invited everyone who was involved in the construction of this road and procurement of the contractor, including the former E.D Allen Kagina. We have also invited the former Minister Gen Katumba Wamala who renewed this contract and every other person who was involved at whichever stage to come and give us an explanation,’ Mr Mpaka said.

How the system is failing

Spot checks on the expressway showed the system regularly fails to classify vehicles correctly before confirming the fee to be charged. In one case, lawmakers found that a higher classification that attracts a higher toll could drive through and be charged as a saloon car.

‘The discrepancy is in the classification. There is usually a misclassification between class two and class three. That misclassification is usually reconciled through the viewing of the video footage by a staff member who does it every other day,’ a committee official said. ‘The classification is manual because it is a manual classification system,’ he added.

MPs say this manual process is among the issues causing revenue leakage.

The committee also found that the system occasionally freezes and stalls, allowing cars to drive through without paying. This was confirmed by Mr Francis Katamba, the project manager under Pinnacle Security Limited, the firm contracted to handle toll collections. ‘Yes, that is a scenario that we have been experiencing. In some situations where one vehicle passes, they time and pass before the barrier comes down the next car. These incidents have happened, and we have got culprits,’ Mr Katamba conceded.

He was quick to add that ‘many of them do this without knowing and they go back and pay cash.’

When pressed to provide figures on losses incurred from such glitches, Mr Katamba instead told lawmakers: ‘there are no financial losses from that tolling. This I can assure you.’

Background on KEE

The Kampala-Entebbe Expressway is a four-lane dual carriageway linking Kampala to the country’s international gateway, Entebbe. The 25km stretch was built to cut travel time from about two hours to about 45 minutes.

Basing on a five-year contract, the toll system was in late May 2021 handed over to Egis Road Operation to operate and manage collections. After that contract elapsed, the government, through the then Works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala, transferred the KEE tolling project to Pinnacle Security Limited.

The committee is expected to meet the former minister, former UNRA boss and other officials on Thursday for what Mr Mpaka called ‘the last meeting’ on the matter.